Chief Economic Adviser Subramanian Urges States To Emulate Rajasthan Model For Labour Reforms

Pitching for labour law reforms, Chief Economic Adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian advised states to follow the Rajasthan model for better results.

“I think there are four-five labour reforms that Rajasthan did. And what we are saying is that by doing the labour reforms, Rajasthan was able to increase number of firms of above 100 employees. It has increased the output of the factories and also number of workers and factories as well,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an interactive session at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad.

In 2014, Rajasthan was the first state that introduced labour reforms. Thereafter, many states followed.

The major reforms undertaken by Rajasthan included the amendments to the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947, the Factories Act, 1948, the Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act, 1970 and the Apprentices Act, 1961.

Replying to a query on the impact of the slump in the automobile industry on the economy, Subramanian said the industry is just one part of the overall manufacturing sector which is doing well.

On doubling farmers' income by 2022, the CEA said the committee on the issue has suggested some steps to enable the small and marginal farmers to sell their products in the marketplace.

Subramanian said there is an opinion that the small and medium enterprises sector (firms with less than 100 employees) presents a lot of employment opportunities which is not practically true.